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Schist vs Limestone


Limestone vs Schist


Definition

Definition
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation   
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate   

History
  
  

Origin
Unknown   
New Zealand   

Discoverer
Unknown   
Belsazar Hacquet   

Etymology
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split   
From lime and stone in late 14th Century   

Class
Metamorphic Rocks   
Sedimentary Rocks   

Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock   
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock   

Family
  
  

Group
Not Applicable   
Not Applicable   

Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock   
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock   

Texture

Texture
Foliated, Platy   
Clastic or Non-Clastic   

Color
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver   
Beige, Black, Blue, Brown, Cream, Gold, Green, Grey, Light Green, Light Grey, Linen, Pink, Red, Rust, Silver, White, Yellow   

Maintenance
Less   
More   

Durability
Durable   
Durable   

Water Resistant
Yes   
No   

Scratch Resistant
No   
Yes   

Stain Resistant
No   
Yes   

Wind Resistant
No   
No   

Acid Resistant
No   
No   

Appearance
Layered and Shiny   
Rough and Banded   

Uses

Architecture
  
  

Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration   
Decorative Aggregates, Interior Decoration   

Exterior Uses
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone   
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings   

Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used   
Curbing   

Industry
  
  

Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone   
Cement Manufacture, Cobblestones, for Road Aggregate, Production of Glass and Ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone, Source of calcium   

Medical Industry
Not Yet Used   
In Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industry, Medicines and Cosmetics   

Antiquity Uses
Artifacts   
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines   

Other Uses
  
  

Commercial Uses
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates   
Animal feed filler, As a Feed Additive for Livestock, Paper Industry, Raw material for manufacture of quicklime, slaked lime, Soil Conditioner, Used in aquariums, Whiting material in toothpaste, paint and paper   

Types

Types
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.   
Chalk, Coquina, Fossiliferous Limestone, Lithographic Limestone, Oolitic Limestone, Travertine, Tufa   

Features
Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch   
Host Rock for Lead, Stalactites and stalagmites are formed from this rock, Zinc and Copper Deposits   

Archaeological Significance
  
  

Monuments
Not Yet Used   
Used   

Famous Monuments
Not Applicable   
Acropolis of Athens in Greece, Agia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Big Ben in London, Charminar in Hyderabad, India, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Maharashtra, India, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Empire State Building in New York, Khajuraho Temples, India, Kremlin in Moscow, Louvre in Paris, France, Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Potala Palace in Lahasa, Tibet, Wailing Wall in Jerusalem   

Sculpture
Not Yet Used   
Used   

Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable   
Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India, Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra, India   

Pictographs
Used   
Used   

Petroglyphs
Used   
Used   

Figurines
Not Yet Used   
Used   

Fossils
Absent   
Present   

Formation

Formation
Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.   
Limestone is a sedimentary rock which is mainly made up of calcium carbonate.   

Composition
  
  

Mineral Content
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc   
Calcite, Chert, Clay, Dolomite, Quartz, Sand, Silt   

Compound Content
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO   
Aluminium Oxide, NaCl, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, FeO, MgO   

Transformation
  
  

Metamorphism
No   
No   

Types of Metamorphism
Not Applicable   
Not Applicable   

Weathering
Yes   
Yes   

Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering   
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering   

Erosion
Yes   
Yes   

Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion   
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion   

Properties

Physical Properties
  
  

Hardness
3.5-4   
3-4   

Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained   
Fine Grained   

Fracture
Conchoidal   
Splintery   

Streak
White   
White   

Porosity
Highly Porous   
Less Porous   

Luster
Shiny   
Dull to Pearly   

Compressive Strength
Not Available   
115.00 N/mm2   
18

Cleavage
Slaty   
Non-Existent   

Toughness
1.5   
1   

Specific Gravity
2.5-2.9   
2.3-2.7   

Transparency
Opaque   
Opaque   

Density
2.8-2.9 g/cm3   
2.3-2.7 g/cm3   

Thermal Properties
  
  

Specific Heat Capacity
Not Available   
0.91 kJ/Kg K   
11

Resistance
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant   
Pressure Resistant   

Reserves

Deposits in Eastern Continents
  
  

Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam   
Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam   

Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa   
Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe   

Europe
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland   
United Kingdom   

Others
Not Yet Found   
Not Yet Found   

Deposits in Western Continents
  
  

North America
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA   
USA   

South America
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana   
Colombia   

Deposits in Oceania Continent
  
  

Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland   
Adelaide, New Zealand, Queensland, Tonga, Victoria, Yorke Peninsula   

Definition >>
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Schist vs Limestone Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Schist and Limestone Reserves. Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation. Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mostly of calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Schist vs Limestone information and Schist vs Limestone characteristics in the upcoming sections.

Compare Metamorphic Rocks

Schist vs Limestone Characteristics

Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Schist vs Limestone characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Schist and Properties of Limestone. Learn more about Schist vs Limestone in the next section. The interior uses of Schist include Decorative aggregates, Floor tiles and Interior decoration whereas the interior uses of Limestone include Decorative aggregates and Interior decoration. Due to some exceptional properties of Schist and Limestone, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Schist in construction industry include As dimension stone, Building houses or walls, Cement manufacture, For road aggregate, Roadstone and that of Limestone include Cement manufacture, Cobblestones, For road aggregate, Production of glass and ceramics, Raw material for the manufacture of mortar, Roadstone, Source of calcium.

More about Schist and Limestone

Here you can know more about Schist and Limestone. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Schist and Limestone consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Schist includes Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc and mineral content of Limestone includes Calcite, Chert, Clay, Dolomite, Quartz, Sand, Silt. You can also check out the list of all Metamorphic Rocks. When we have to compare Schist vs Limestone, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Schist is available in black, blue, brown, dark brown, green, grey, silver colors whereas, Limestone is available in beige, black, blue, brown, cream, gold, green, grey, light green, light grey, linen, pink, red, rust, silver, white, yellow colors. Appearance of Schist is Layered and Shiny and that of Limestone is Rough and Banded. Properties of rock is another aspect for Schist vs Limestone. The hardness of Schist is 3.5-4 and that of Limestone is 3-4. The types of Schist are Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist. whereas types of Limestone are Chalk, Coquina, Fossiliferous Limestone, Lithographic Limestone, Oolitic Limestone, Travertine, Tufa. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Schist and Limestone is white. The specific heat capacity of Schist is Not Available and that of Limestone is 0.91 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Schist is impact resistant, pressure resistant, water resistant whereas Limestone is pressure resistant.

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